


Code Red

by UnicornAffair



Series: Emma Gomez-Hart [13]
Category: Power Rangers (2017), Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: Alternate Universe - Parents, Cranscott as Shelby and Ethan's dads, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-09 12:15:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18637942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnicornAffair/pseuds/UnicornAffair
Summary: Billy and Jason's day is entirely shook up when they find that their barely teenage daughter has locked herself up in the bathroom, not wanting to go to school. The cause? Shark Week, that time of the month for the first time.





	Code Red

**Author's Note:**

> So far the move has been going pretty well, I'm going to be focusing on writing some short stuff for now due to the constant going back and forth and craziness going on in my life right now
> 
> this ficlet has been inspired by an episode of Modern Family

Billy Cranscott relied on a regular morning routine. Get up, kiss his husband Jason before he went for his morning jog, take a shower before the twins woke up, prepare a perfectly balanced breakfast for his family while they were getting ready, eat with his family, go to work. For Billy he functioned the best on a routine, a  _ schedule,  _ anything that offset the schedule could agitate him. So when Jason was the  _ first  _ one at the kitchen table for breakfast he knew something was wrong. Shelby and Ethan normally were showered, clothed and chattering away by the time Jason returned from his jog.

Jason could see the wheels turning in Billy’s mind, his eyes said it all, that he was bothered. “I’ll see what’s going on” He didn’t want his husband’s entire day to be thrown off because one of the twins had slept in. 

What he  _ wasn’t _ expecting was to find Ethan banging on the bathroom door, his twin sister Shelby locking herself inside. “Shelby! Come ON!” He sighed heavily, his head thrown back, the calm quiet brother had to take a lot when it came to her bigger personality. The only girl of the family demanded quite a bit of attention.

“What’s wrong?” Jason asked, a bit tired from his run, it was far too early to deal with bickering twins. 

“I gotta pee and she’s not OPENING THE DOOR!” Ethan started to bang on the door again, Jason had to intervene by taking his son’s wrist, knowing if Billy was in a hypersensitive space loud sounds would  _ not _ be helping.  

“I’m NOT leaving!” Shelby called out, “Buzz off Ethan!”

“Shelby….are you okay? Are you feeling sick?” His fatherly instincts kicked in, something felt off, Shelby wasn’t the type to grow cold and distant...to shut her family out. “Open the door, we can talk this out, c’mon we’re going to be late for school” 

“I’m not  _ going _ to school today! You can’t make me!”

“Shelby c’mooon!” Ethan bit his lip, his situation was becoming dire, “Stop being such a drama queen! Some people  _ need _ the bathroom”

“Okay Ethan” Jason knew that her twin brother was  _ not  _ helping the situation at all, “You can use our bathroom” The second he got the permission from his dad, Ethan made a beeline to his father’s room. “Shelby you  _ have _ to go to school today”

“Is she sick?” Billy asked, standing at the end of the hallway. Too much time had passed, he was growing concerned.

“I don’t know, she’s not talking to me” Jason sighed, taking a step back, “I don’t know if she’s sick or if something  _ happened _ at school and she’s just not telling us or what” He folded his arms, feeling a little defeated, “She doesn’t want to go to school today”

Shelby and Ethan were both products of Billy proper. The twins  _ loved _ to go to school, they  _ excelled _ at learning, so for one of them to  _ not want to go _ meant something was wrong. Very wrong. 

Billy stepped forward and gently knocked on the door, trying his hand at breaking through to his daughter. “Shelby it’s me...please, you’re starting to scare us...just talk to us. It’s  _ okay _ if someone is being mean to you at school or-”

“No one’s being mean to me at school...I just want to be left  _ alone”  _

“Stay with her” Jason wasn’t completely sure he believed his daughter when she said that no one was bothering her. A goody-good teacher’s pet, band nerd, outspoken girl could potentially have a target on her back. Girls could be cruel.  _ Especially _ in middle school. 

Ethan passed Jason in the hallway, “If Shelby’s not going to school, I don’t wanna go to school”

“No, no,  _ you _ are going to school. We’re not going to break our perfect attendance record now” Jason knew how much pride Billy took in the perfect attendance award. This was not an all or nothing game, Ethan was perfectly healthy and  _ fine.  _ “Go eat breakfast” Jason wanted to look through Shelby’s room to see if there were any clues to what was wrong. 

Desperate times called for desperate matters, and while Jason didn’t  _ want _ to go through her personal belongings he felt like he had to. Being a father meant putting his kids safety over privacy, sometimes that meant being the  _ bad _ guy. It didn’t take Jason long to find the root of the problem, his face fell immediately upon seeing her sheets stained with  _ red.  _ Oh  _ no.  _ This was not a situation he was prepared for...not in the slightest. “Billy!” He called, this was going to have to be a united front at such a sensitive time. 

“Did you find something?” Billy was quick to move down the hallway. His line of sight immediately went to Shelby’s bed, the only thing that was off in her otherwise perfect room. “Oh” 

Houston we have a problem. 

“What do we do?” Jason couldn’t imagine what was going through Shelby’s mind. He thought they had more time, they didn’t prepare her at  _ all _ for  _ this _ situation. He ran a hand through his sweaty hair, wishing he hadn’t gone on a damn run today. 

With Ethan, Jason and Billy were far more prepared. They personally went  _ through _ it, they understood what growing up meant for a  _ boy.  _ The two men felt incompetent, that they had more  _ time.  _ Mother nature wasn't patient, not in the slightest. Billy brought up his phone, paying more attention to that then his inquiring husband. It took Jason clearing his throat for Billy to register that his attention was wanted, "Hm?"

"What do we do?" Jason repeated, "...Should we call for backup?"

"We're Shelby's dads" Billy stated the fact, "We can do this. Let's try talking to her, she's just as scared as we are right now. If we go together, I think we'll be just fine"

With their little pep talk behind them, the two men felt they were as prepared as they were going to be for this. The former quarterback took the brave first step by knocking gently on the bathroom door with the back of his knuckles keeping his voice soft, "Shelby, you don't have to open up yet but please...hear us out. We're going to get through this together. I know you're feeling embarrassed and freaked out, but that's okay, this is a part of life and we want to be there to help"

Billy stepped close to the door, reading off of his phone, "Your body is going through something  _ magical _ for the first time, you're becoming a woman." It was scary to the Cranscott men to how quickly Shelby and Ethan were growing up in front of their eyes, "All that's happening is that:  _ one of the ovaries releases an egg — a process called ovulation. At the same time, hormonal changes prepare the uterus for pregnancy. If ovulation takes place and the egg isn't fertilized, the lining of the uterus sheds through the vagina. This is a menstrual period" _

Jason had to look over to his husband, of  _ course _ Billy would fall back on clinical  _ facts  _ from a quick google search to make sure their daughter was  _ well _ informed to what her body was currently doing.

"Oh my GOD! PLEASE stop!" Shelby shouted from the other side of the closed door.

Poor Ethan was all ready for school, coming around the corner when he heard Billy's health lesson. His eyes went wide, his imagination running wild on what that could mean only to be faced with  _ horror.  _ "Oh my god,  _ what!? _ That's awful! Hnnnnnn" And now he sounded like he was going to throw up. Fantastic. 

"Okay! Okay" Needing to control the situation, Jason stepped up, pointing his finger in the direction of his son. "I'm taking you to school right now" Shelby was  _ far _ too sensitive to hear her  _ male _ twin freaking out about what her body was going through. "Billy,  _ please _ get off of WebMD"

"What?" Ethan frowned, his eyes traveling to the bathroom door, "How come I have to go to school if Shelby's not?"

"Because the lining of your uterus isn't shedding" Billy pulled away from the door to address his son in a low voice, responding as a matter of fact.

"....I don't have a uterus" He paused, frowning, realizing, "Hey that's not fair!"

Jason sighed, with twins it was never easy keeping a fair game when boys and girls go through things so differently. "We'll talk in the car...let's just give her some space." His expression said it all;  _ really? _ Was Ethan  _ really _ going to be pulling the 'that's not fair card  _ now?'  _ "Will you be okay to stay with her?"

"Yeah" Billy wasn't the  _ best _ when it came to adjusting his routinely schedule, he didn't like to be late for work, or even call work off but... _ family _ always came first. In his heart he knew his baby girl needed him, he couldn't leave her now, not like this. “We’ll be okay”

*****

Jason knew they were in over their heads when it came to understanding  _ what _ Shelby was going through. He didn’t want to call Beverly or Candace for help, he didn’t want them knowing that they dropped the ball or couldn’t handle it. Jason and Billy prided themselves so much on being able to tackle  _ anything,  _ sure there were some hiccups along the way...but still, he didn’t want to call his mom every time something came up with  _ Shelby.  _ To say that two men couldn’t raise a girl. He didn’t want them to be involved...so he had to look elsewhere. 

After Jason dropped Ethan off at the junior high, he drove over to Eastland Academy’s elementary school so he could speak with Mrs. Aisha Landsdown. Ever since the  _ start,  _ Aisha has been a helping hand to him when it came to Shelby specifically. Sure there were other parents on Shelby’s basketball team that he could go to, Trini and Kimberly were both two moms, but with something so sensitive like this? Jason was  _ much _ closer to the elementary school teacher. He didn’t feel  _ as _ embarrassed talking to her about  _ this _ .

“What’s wrong?” Was Aisha’s first question, it had been a  _ long _ while since Shelby was in her class. Parents don’t visit their kids first grade teachers on a whim. 

Jason rubbed the back of his neck, how does he even bring this up? “We ah, have a  _ code red  _ situation at home” When Aisha didn’t pick up  _ what _ he meant right away, he had to sigh, “Shelby had her ah first...y’know” He made a popping sound with his lips, feeling uncomfortable saying the word out loud. Aisha squinted, trying to connect the dots, “While she was sleeping and she’s really freaked out”

“Oh” Her face fell  _ “Ohhh”  _

“Don’t you teach that in health class?” Jason asked, keeping his voice low so the kids doing their writing practice couldn’t pick up on any choice words. 

“Of course we do. Remember the day we sent kids home with the deodorant? Shelby knows  _ what’s _ happening to her body” Oh good. So Billy didn’t  _ need _ to research medical facts on the internet to read to her. Aisha rested a hand on her forehead, “Where is she?”

“Last I know she locked herself up in the bathroom and refused to come out” Jason glanced down to the ground, “My husband’s with her right now, but ah...he’s a bit more clinical at his approach” When Aisha’s brows rose, Jason bumbled to continue to explain, “He’s been reading facts to her”

“Okay, we can’t go back unprepared, we’ll go to the store pick up some things she’s going to  _ need.  _ I’ll pull Hazel from class so she has someone around her age” Comfort coming from a female friend may be what Shelby needed… “It’s going to be okay” Aisha reached forward to squeeze Jason’s arm, he felt like a complete failure of a  _ parent.  _ “I need to talk to Emily to combine our classes…” 

At least the kids were going to have a fun day. 

*****

Jason stood in the feminine care aisle with Aisha and her daughter Hazel, looking absolutely dumbfounded by all of the choices that there were. Maxi pads, mini pads, pads with  _ wings,  _ ultra thin pads, cushiony looking pads...god, then there were all the tampons. He wasn’t the type of gay guy that had a lot of girlfriends. When it came to his younger sister Pearl...he was already out of the house at college before she really hit puberty. This all went over his head. He felt like such an idiot, but in the back of his mind he had to remind himself this wasn’t about  _ him _ or his  _ ego, _ it was about his daughter.

When Jason and his entourage returned home, he was disappointed to find that Shelby was still locking herself up in the bathroom. Billy sat on the ground in front of the door with a contemplative look on his face, “She did not like my toilet paper suggestion”

“Oh sweetie” Aisha sent the man a sympathetic smile, he appeared to have exhausted all of his options. “It’s going to be okay, she knows you guys love her very much”

Jason showed Billy the contents of the bag, “Don’t worry, we’re going to be covered for awhile” The three of them had bought supplies that would last for a good couple of months.

“Not these” Billy took every box of tampons out of the bag to set aside, “They can cause toxic shock syndrome” Looking up fun medical facts had opened his eyes to the worst case scenarios.

“....What?” Hazel glanced from Billy to her mother, as a tampon user that sounded like a scary revelation,  _ “What?”  _

“Yeah so-”

“Ahh maybe we can talk about this later Dr. Cranscott” Jason took Billy’s phone, Shelby was already scared of what was happening, they did  _ not _ need to freak out another little girl. 

“Right” Aisha took a turn stepping at the door, knocking softly, “Shelby...this is Mrs. Landsdown”

“Oh my  _ god”  _ As if Shelby wasn’t humiliated enough, now her first grade teacher was here,  _ knowing.  _ “Dads, seriously!? Who else did you invite? Principal Udonna!? Coach Shiba!?” 

“Okay, okay, let  _ me _ handle this” Hazel wasn’t going to beat around the bush like the adults, she grabbed a package of pads from the plastic bag and knocked on the door with a bit more purpose, “Hey it’s Hazel, c’mon let me in. I know this totally and completely sucks, but you  _ have _ to look at the bright side here. This happened at  _ home,  _ you know what the worst is? Having to change into  _ gym shorts _ to class because of an  _ ‘accident’.  _ C’mon let’s talk this out...just  _ us”  _ Her eyes traveled to the three adults in the room, “No parents”

“....They’re still standing right there aren’t they?”

_ “Mhmm” _ Hazel’s brows rose expectantly, a cue for Jason, Billy and Aisha to step into the kitchen and far away from Shelby. Space from the adults and the comfort of a  _ friend _ in this moment was what the young girl  _ wanted.  _ That and  _ something _ that wasn’t wrapping toilet paper around her underwear as padding.

Billy started a fresh pot of coffee, Jason sat at the kitchen table with his head in his hands, Aisha decided to sit next to him a comforting hand resting on his shoulder. “Don’t be so hard on yourself...you’re doing the best you can, it’s  _ okay _ to ask for help once in awhile” The first grade teacher sat back, “Sometimes it takes a village to raise a child...look, if you’d like, Summer and I can take her out and take care of more  _ girl things” _

“Like what?” Billy asked curiously, now getting three mugs out for them, playing the part of a good host. “We can teach her how to shave”

“Have you thought about maybe getting her a bra?”

Jason folded his arms, in his mind Shelby hadn’t quite developed enough to need one but then again...he was completely in the dark to her first period. If she was starting puberty then the rest would be kicking it into high gear too. “No, we’re her dads...if this showed us anything it means we have to step up” Even if they were treading in unfamiliar territory, “We can  _ handle _ buying a bra”   

How hard could  _ that _ be?

*****

If Shelby got out of school due to her period, to make it fair for her brother, Jason and Billy allowed him to go spend time with his best friend Conner to spare him from bra shopping. Nope for this one it’d be just Shelby and her dads. Double the dads, double the fun, a good mantra to live by. Only, Shelby  _ wasn’t _ her normal bubbly, excited to go to the mall, self. She was a bit more moody, snapping, her arms were constantly folded and Jason could swear if her eyes could roll any more they’d be at the back of her head. It was as if she  _ didn’t _ want to be out in public, bra shopping, with her far too enthusiastic fathers. 

“Can we just  _ go? _ Make this quick?” Shelby huffed out a sigh, knowing that she couldn’t fight this. Her body  _ was _ going to be changing and...if she were to be honest, having a bra would make changing into her gym clothes a little  _ less _ awkward. She didn’t have the heart to tell her dads that instead of changing in the locker room like the other girls, she would take to a bathroom stall to avoid any potential teasing. 

“We have to find the right training bra for you” If Billy was going to do  _ anything _ for his kids, he wanted it to be  _ perfect.  _ “You’re going to need…” He cupped his chest, “Support”

“Stop! Stop! Stop! Oh my god” Shelby didn’t  _ care _ if her dad sometime’s didn’t like being touched, he could not be doing  _ that.  _ What if someone saw!? This was the  _ mall _ someone important like  _ Kira Ford _ could be out and about. She swatted his hands, desperately trying to make this nightmare end. “Please let's just pick one”

“What about this?” Jason put it to Shelby’s front, “It’s pink, that’s your favorite color”

Now Jason has experienced some down right evil looks from his daughter. He remembered clearly the days where he didn’t let her win at Candyland, or when he told her that it was time for a nap, he witnessed her get upset with her twin brother for this and that but  _ nothing _ compared to the death glare she sent his way.  _ “Whatever” _

“Hey, hey don’t whatever me” The former quarterback sighed, he didn’t know what else he could do but he wasn’t going to put up with this attitude. “I’m sorry, we’re not Mrs. Landsdown or the Gomez-Hart family but we’re doing this because we love you” He then turned a price tag on one of the more adult bras to see what the damage could end up being later,  _ “What?  _ Why do these cost so much?”

A sigh, Shelby couldn’t fault her fathers from trying  _ this _ much, she knew their hearts were in the right place...even if this felt like the  _ worst.  _ “If I’m a woman now, does this mean I can start wearing makeup?” She asked hopefully, wanting to try and get a little more out of their man-panic.

_ “No”  _ Billy and Jason both responded without missing a beat, resulting in a pouting Shelby.  It wasn’t a secret that Shelby was already crushing  _ hard _ on members of a boy band. The idea of Shelby using tampons was scary enough for Jason and Billy, the idea of her  _ dating _ a  _ boy _ was another world. Especially now that biologically she  _ could _ get pregnant. 

God. One crisis at a time.

“Hazel and Hayley get to wear makeup” Shelby retorted, her bottom lip still jutted out.

“Hazel is  _ older _ than you” Jason didn’t have anything good to come back with on the case of Hayley.

“We don’t think you’re ready for it yet” Billy backed his husband up, “Besides, you’re  _ beautiful _ you don’t  _ need _ makeup”

“You’re  _ supposed  _ to say that, you’re my dads” Shelby sighed, picking the pink bra away from Jason to examine it more...she did really like the color. “But no one’s lining up to date  _ me”  _ Not when her friends were the likes of Hayley Park and Hazel Landsdown...she always felt like the  _ other _ one. 

“Ah sweetie, when the right person comes along-” Jason tried to start explaining.

“Oh god” Shelby groaned, “Please don’t”

“You’re the total package!” Billy was going to help turn that frown upside down, “Funny,  _ and _ smart. Any guy’ll be  _ lucky  _ to have you as a girlfriend”

The barely teenage girl paused, “So I can date?”

_ “No”  _ Billy and Jason were quick to respond to that, “And neither is Ethan” Jason responded. Despite Shelby’s body starting to change...the Cranscott dads were  _ not _ prepared for the twins to start  _ dating _ ,  _ kissing, touching.  _ Nope, nope, nope. 

Shelby sighed, it was definitely worth a try. “Can we just get out of here before someone I  _ know _ sees me?” She at least made the effort to grab a couple of sports bras, each one a bright color. The young girl sighed, “I’m  _ sorry _ for being a brat” She was very self aware as Jason looked outright hurt. “This is all kinda overwhelming for me and I know you’re trying your best...”

“We’re a family” Billy was the one that spoke up, “No matter what we face, we’re going to face it together. Even if it’s hard or embarrassing...just please, don’t shut us out. We’re not going to get everything right, we’re not the world’s best dads..but we’re going to do everything we can.” 

“Ethan’s going to be going through changes too.” Jason was going to have to remind Shelby in the future to not make fun of him once his voice starts to drop. “You aren’t  _ alone.  _ You can come to us with  _ anything” _

“It’s not always easy” Shelby glanced to the ground, shrugging, “To  _ talk _ about this kinda thing” Bras, pads, tampons, boobs coming in, what it meant to  _ be _ a girl with two men that could never get it. Everyone else Shelby knew had a woman in the family; Hazel and Emma had two mothers, Hayley and Serena had  _ their  _ moms and Gia….well...Mrs. Moran was  _ something.  _ Part of  _ why _ she joined the basketball team was to feel close to other girls, that and she made for a damn good point guard. 

She had to sigh, relenting, “I’m sorry for shutting you out” Shelby glanced from one of her father’s to the next, “Or coming off like a brat” She knew she wasn’t the most pleasant to be around right now, “I know you guys are trying your best…”

“We’re not always going to be perfect..” Jason hated to admit that, “But no more shutting us out, that really scared us”

“I’m so sorry” Shelby moved to hug Jason first, waiting for a cue from Billy before pulling him into an embrace next. “I  _ promise  _ I will totally come to you first.” And if Billy and Jason didn’t know what to do, they had plenty of women around them that could give the 411 on what to say or do.  _ “Especially _ once I need dating advice”

“...Let’s just focus on buying you a bra…” Jason shook his head, sometimes he swore his young daughter had a one track mind. 

_ One crisis at a time. _


End file.
